Two artificial DNA “letters” that are accurately and efficiently replicated by a natural enzyme have been created by US researchers. Adding the two artificial building blocks to the four that naturally comprise DNA could allow wildly different kinds of genetic engineering, they say. This combines with the previous articles about using DNA to assemble millions …
DNA was used to build a three-dimensional structure out of 15 nanometer gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparticles are the bricks and the DNA is scaffold and mortar. Three-dimensional nanoparticle arrays are likely to be the foundation of future optical and electronic materials. The novel part of the work is that the researchers use DNA to …
The Carnival of Space week 39 is up at Visual Astronomy My contribution is an article on what the 2008 space elevator contest will look like (an impressive 1000 meter line from a blimp) and what are the targets for the prizes Astropixie has a simulation video of a Spaceship Two flight. BAd Astronomy confirms …
SpaceX tested two Merlin 1C engines operated at full power while attached to a rocket that was strapped to the launch pad. SpaceX offers the possibility of more inexpensive US rockets and a possible replacement for the Space shuttle in 2010. UPDATE Spacex is trying to successfully launched the first Falcon 9 on June 4, …
The continuous fabrication of complex, three-dimensional nanoscale structures and the ability to grow individual nanowires of unlimited length are now possible with a process developed by researchers at the University of Illinois. Based on the rapid evaporation of solvent from simple “inks,” the process has been used to fabricate freestanding nanofibers, stacked arrays of nanofibers …
Since a journal article was submitted to the Royal Society of Chemistry, the U of Alberta researchers have already made the processor and unit smaller and have brought the cost of building a portable unit for genetic testing down to about $100 Cdn. In addition, these systems are also portable and even faster (they take …
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed an adhesive that is the first to master the easy attach and easy release of the reptile’s padded feet. The material could prove useful for a range of products, from climbing equipment to medical devices. One of my predictions from 2006 was that there would be …
Researchers from University of Wollongong, New South Wales have a new and better way of separating graphene sheets. Their process allows sheets to be kept apart in aqueous solution by electrostatic repulsion alone – without the need for chemical stabilizers. Graphene sheets have an extremely large surface area and non-bonding interactions can cause the sheets …
Besides EOR Resources there are other players developing the Bakken oil resource. The economics are attractive in the Bakken play. At least four wells per section can be drilled. Drilling and completion costs are approximately $1.7 million per well, and according to our independent reserve evaluator, proved plus probable reserves are 100,000 barrels of oil …
A carbon nanotube based drug has had preliminary tests showing it is more than 5,000 times more effective at reducing the effects of acute radiation injury than the most effective drugs currently available. There were already results that gene therapy can increase resistance to radiation. “More than half of those who suffer acute radiation injury …
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Polyset Company have developed a new inexpensive, quick-drying polymer that could lead to dramatic cost savings and efficiency gains in semiconductor manufacturing and computer chip packaging. The compatibility with lithography (the current process for making computer chips) and nanoimprinting (a likely future method of computer chip making with smaller …